‘We are very glad we are not alone’
Boston rallies to mark the anniversary of Ukraine's invasion
“Slava Ukraini!” a voice bellowed again and again through a megaphone in front of Trinity Church in Copley Square Sunday afternoon.
“Heroiam slava!” a mass of Bostonian clad in blue and yellow bellowed back.
The chants — Ukrainian salutes meaning “Glory to Ukraine!” and “Glory to the heroes!” popularized during the original Ukrainian War of Independence — echoed around the square throughout a rally of hundreds braving the icy winds Sunday marking the one year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country.
Bostonians, and particularly the Eastern European immigrant community, came out in force during the rally, standing with the embattled people of Ukraine and cheering on American support for the war effort.
“Ukraine stands at the front line of democracy in Europe, and this brazen, brutal savage attack on the Ukrainian people is as unlawful and as savage as the unprovoked attack on Poland in 1939,” Rep. Richard
Neal yelled out into the crowd. “Make no mistake, Vladimir Putin is as much a war criminal and a gangster as Adolf Hitler was in his day.”
For many in Boston’s Ukrainian community, the day was a personal reminder.
Nika Chelnokova, a Ukrainian Suffolk University student and founder of Boston Support Ukraine, remembered calling and waking her mother the day the invasion began.
“She asked me, ‘Baby, why are you calling me so early? What happened?'” Chelnokova
recalled. “And at that moment, I knew I had to be the one who would tell her that her life won’t be the same again. That the Russian is bombing every city in Ukraine. There was a silence on the other end of the line. And then I heard my mom start to cry.”
Chelnokova, like many other speakers, reminded attendees of the reality of the “nightmare.”
Signs held by volunteers around the rally read the tragic toll of the last year, including 6,826 civilians killed, 450 killed children, 12,572 children forcibly taken to Russia, 1,110 destroyed hospitals, 3,126 destroyed schools and many hefty reminders of the ways the country is forever changed.
The 2 p.m. rally was followed by an exhibit in the Trinity Church displaying the signs detailing the toll of the war and a prayer service at 5 p.m.
“I got to see Ukraine three months before the war started,” said Belarusian immigrant Pavel Dzemianok, who married a Ukrainian immigrant Kateryna Dzemianok. “I was really lucky.”
The couple said they’re “devastated” the country will never be the same, but this sort of support and hope means a lot.
“Our feet and our hands are cold, but our hearts are warmed by the support,” said Kateryna Dzemianok, remarking that no matter how far they are from home, the community can show up for each other and be together.
Despite recent faltering of the unanimous political support for providing aid to Ukraine, rally goers Sunday by and large expressed gratitude for the U.S.’s continued efforts, intermittently chanting “Thank you U.S.A.!”
“We are very glad we are not alone,” said Roman Tarnavsky, a pastor at St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Jamaica Plain.
Still, some said, maintaining attention on the plight of the Ukrainian people is vital.
“We definitely should help more than we do now,” said Russian immigrant Mikhail Viner-Bykovskiy, referencing U.S. military aid.
“You have the power to influence the future,” Chelnokova said vehemently. “Don’t be silent, spread awareness, donate, fight and please, never lose hope.”